


smoke signals

by nitorisource



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Parents, M/M, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-02-22 15:04:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2511968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nitorisource/pseuds/nitorisource
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It starts when Sousuke is called in about his son's behavior at school. The kid that's made his cry? Tachibana's, apparently. A lot has happened in the past ten years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Ryou glances up from his paper at the sound of shoes squeaking loudly against linoleum, half-tripped up running steps, and the yelps of students in the hallway as books and bags hit the floor. Moments later, none other than his father is skidding into the classroom, out of breath and disheveled with an apology for his tardiness already leaving his mouth. The little boy slips his paper into his notebook before glancing out the window and finally noticing the soft thrumming of raindrops against the glass.

“Really, Yamazaki-san, it’s fine, it’s fine,” Yoshitoma-sensei says with a wave of his hand as Sousuke continues with the apologies. Sousuke gives a nod and tries to brush back his damp hair. “It must have been difficult rushing here through the rain and traffic.”

“On the phone, you said something about Ryou’s behavior?” Sousuke says warily, taking a few more steps into the class as he sheds his rain-dotted coat. His son is still facing the window with his chin propped up against his palm, appearing almost bored, and aside from glancing at him at the start Ryou’s hardly paid him any mind.

“Ah, yes. You see, Ryou-kun had a surprising outburst at another student earlier this afternoon. Because it’s his first time doing anything like this, there’s no need for the principal to get involved, but—“

“Ryou did this? What did Ryou do, shout at another kid? That’s not like him,” Sousuke interjects, frowning as both adults turn their eyes to the still child.

“Yes, we were all very shocked, Yamazaki-san,” Yoshitoma-sensei says in a strained voice. “The reason I called you here today is because the things he said were rather inappropriate for a school setting…”

“Oh. Oh, yeah, well.” Sousuke’s lips turn down again and his hand comes up to rest and fidget with his shoulder as he tries to find the right words for an explanation. He can’t even recall when it was the last time he said anything for Ryou to pick up on, and he wonders exactly what profanity left his child’s mouth.

“I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he mutters, making his way to kneel down in front of his son. “Anyway, can you tell me what exactly happened?” Ryou tries to turn his face away when Sousuke catches his tiny chin between his fingers. His brow furrows. Ryou’s eyes are red-rimmed and puffy, and he’s trying his best not to sniffle, but he eventually nudges his father’s hand out of the way so that he can wipe at his runny nose

“Of course. Actually, if we could wait a minute or so more for the other parent to arrive, then I will explain it to you both.”

“Other parent?” Sousuke finally takes his eyes off of Ryou and Yoshitoma-sensei to notice the other child in the room. She’s sitting at the desk farthest from his son and she has the same uninterested expression on her face as Ryou’s as she faces the window. Sousuke recognizes her immediately as one of the few other children that are picked up even later than Ryou in the past few weeks. She always sits at a table away from the others.

She’s the reason his son has ended up shouting and crying at school?

He catches the girl’s gray-green eyes with his own accusatory stare and she gives him a dismissive shrug before turning again to the window. Sousuke decides that he doesn’t like this kid already.

And then, as the three of them continue to wait, she decides to break the silence with: “It’s Ryou-chan’s fault for being a baby. I don’t want to be here. This is dumb.”

Ryou’s expression wavers and scrunches up as new, hot tears form in his eyes against his will. A small hiccup leaves his mouth and Sousuke thinks he has a thing or two to say to this arrogant brat when a frantic voice wails down the hall.

“Excuse me! Do you know where Room 4-A is? Ah, down this hall? Thank you so much!” It’s followed by the sound of heavy, wet boots pounding against the floor until a figure rushes a few steps past the doorway before skidding to a stop and hastily backing up.

“I’m sorry I’m so late, Yoshitoma-sensei,” the man says, gripping the doorframe before he enters. His eyes land on the girl sitting in the corner and before the teacher can get a word out, he blurts out, “What’s happened? Has Suzume done something?”

“No, no, Tachibana-san, she – ah, well, yes, she has done something, but please, come in. I was just about to explain. First, I apologize for having to call you out of work today.” Tachibana is already making his way towards Suzume, but when he tries to kneel down and place an arm on her shoulder, she swats it away and crosses her arms.

The brunet gives he teacher a strained smile as he says, “Well, it’s pouring today. I’m sure that they – won’t – need—“

His green eyes widen and his fingers stop midway through his pushed-back, wet, dark-brown hair when his eyes catch on Sousuke as he stands from his spot in front of Ryou. Sousuke is confused for a moment but realization hits him slowly as he takes in Tachibana’s stocky build, his kind face, his downturned, forest-green eyes. He doesn’t seem too different from last they saw one another, which was at least eight or nine years ago after their high school graduation. Sousuke made a brief appearance at Nanase’s, and only at the behest of Rin. Tachibana was the one to greet him at the door with a cheerful, ‘I’m glad you decided to come, Yamazaki-kun.’ His hair seems shorter now than before, but it still hangs unevenly over his forehead as Tachibana allows his hand to drop.

“Yamazaki-kun?” he says, disbelief still running through his tone. He hasn’t heard that in years. It looks as though Makoto has more than a dozen questions ready to ask, but before he has a chance to say anything else, Sousuke cuts him off.

“Tachibana? You have a kid?”

Makoto gapes at the question and instead of answering all he can do is look from his daughter to Ryou. Both children’s interest have now been slightly piqued at their guardian’s reactions to one another but after gauging Sousuke’s half-shocked expression, Suzume tugs on Makoto’s hand.

“It seems you’re both familiar with one another,” Yoshitoma-sensei says with a clap of his hands, snapping both parents from their daze. His expression eases as he says, “That should make this easier, then.”

Sousuke wants to say that he really doesn’t know much about Tachibana and that they’ve had little conversation outside of greetings or “Good job, today,” after their long-gone swim practices, but he turns his attention back to the matter at hand.

Which now begs the question as to how that tiny ball of sass and attitude could be related to Mr. Kind-hearted, motherly, down to earth, Tachibana.

Yoshitoma-sensei motions for Makoto and Suzume to take seats closer to the front of the class, which Suzume complies with only when Makoto gives her a pleading look. He takes a seat next to Suzume while Sousuke sits down on the edge of Ryou’s desk. For someone of Makoto’s size to fit into the chairs manufactured for children twelve and under seems a little absurd – he has to draw his knees all the way in to prevent them from knocking into another chair and he tries to draw his elbows and arm in – especially when he’s dressed in that uniform. Sousuke can’t recall what Tachibana wanted to do after high school, but is that a cop’s uniform?

“Well, to start,” Yoshitoma-sensei says, standing before them, “the incident happened about halfway through lunch. Both Ryou-kun and Suzume were sitting inside the classroom working on their projects. I left the room to another teacher and when I returned, Ryou-kun was crying. I believe Suzume ruined his project. Takizawa-sensei and I had to pull them apart when Ryou-kun began shouting at Suzume.” He pauses and directs his attention to Suzume, whose mouth is now set in a pout.

“… I didn’t ruin it,” she mutters after a few moments of waiting.

“Can you explain your side of the story, then?” he asks in a gentle voice.

“I didn’t ruin it,” she says again, crossing her arms and returning Yoshitoma-sensei’s gaze. “I was trying to make it better, but Ryou-chan moved it away and he got paint on it and ripped it a little. Then he started crying and I tried to get him another paper but he got really mad all of a sudden. And he started yelling, and I told him to shut up and to stop being a baby about a little project.”

Sousuke clenches his jaw at the irritated look Suzume gives him when she gives both him and Ryou a sidelong glance. She had no right to be irritated, especially with a story like that, but Sousuke catches the way Makoto’s lips turn down at his daughter’s words. He’s never seen Tachibana with such an expression.

“Ryou-kun, do you want to tell me what happened?”

Ryou is a little more hard-pressed to begin talking. He stares down at his hands folded in his lap and shakes his head once, but Sousuke leans down and gives his son a reassuring nudge on the shoulder.

“Okay,” he says quietly, his voice already wavering with new tears. “I was drawing. And she said I needed more color. But I told her my paper didn’t need paint, because I wasn’t doing a painting. And the paint covered my lines, so I moved it, and it ripped when we both tried to move it back. It took a lot of time to draw all my lines so I got mad at her. And – and I called her names. But I – I didn’t mean, them, so – so I’m—“

“Thank you, Ryou-kun. It sounds to me that this was a misunderstanding. Suzume, you shouldn’t touch another person’s work without them asking you first, okay? And Ryou-kun, even if we get upset, we shouldn’t speak that way to other people.”

“Fine,” Suzume says, though she mutters something extra on the end that only Makoto can hear, and whatever it is, it makes him give her a chastising look that she only brushes off.

Ryou nods at sensei’s words, giving Suzume a timid look, before glancing up at his father.

“Yoshitoma-sensei, if that’s all, then—“

“Actually, Yamazaki-san, there’s something else I’d like to discuss with you. Tachibana-san, you as well, if you don’t mind waiting a while more,” he says, ushering Sousuke into the hallway. Makoto blinks worried at him before nodding his head and smiling faintly as he turns back to the children and begins to strike up a conversation about what they learned in class that day.

“You see, Yamazaki-san, I’ve been watching over Ryou-kun’s behavior the past week or so and he’s seemed more down and withdrawn than usual. He has had trouble making friends since the beginning of the year, but if there is something I should know, so that I can better aid him as his teacher, then I would appreciate you telling me.”

“Ah – well.” Sousuke lets out a heavy sigh as he scratches the back of his neck. This is the second time Yoshitoma-sensei has had to speak with him about Ryou, though this time, Sousuke does have an idea behind his son’s behavior. “You see, I think it may have to do with his mother,” he says tentatively. Just thinking about it makes him cringe, and his heart twists at the thought that Ryou has been more bothered about it than he’s been letting on.

“I see,” sensei says when Sousuke offers no further explanation. “Well, like I said, if there’s any way I can help, do let me know. He’s a very bright child, but he seems afraid to show it at times. If that’s all, then you and Ryou-kun are free to go home.”

“Yeah. Yeah, he’s like that,” Sousuke says with a crestfallen smile. “Thank you for looking over him, sensei. I’ll be seeing you.”

They both pop back into the room. Sousuke hesitates before calling his son’s name when he sees the way Ryou is speaking with Makoto. There’s a large book splayed out on the desk in front of them and Ryou points at one spot after another as he recites country names, while Makoto praises him and helps him with pronunciation, laughing lightly when he misspeaks a name as well. He’s still trying to sit in the tiny chairs and has it pulled far away from the desk so that his knees have room. Sousuke glances at Suzume, who is huddled over a paper with a group of uncapped markers grasped in her other hand, oblivious to the other two.

“Oh – it looks like you’re ready to go home, Ryou-kun,” Makoto says when sensei gives them a small wave.

“Okay. I’ll teach you more another day, Tachibana-san,” he says as he shuts the book and trots to the high bookshelves to put it away.

“I’ll look forward to it.” Makoto gives him a warm smile as he finally stands and join the adults, while Ryou-kun follows with his backpack slung over his shoulder. “It was nice to see you again, Yamazaki-kun.”

“Yeah. Same to you.” Sousuke can’t quite meet his eyes, but he returns the smile with a nod. “Ready to go, buddy?”

“Yeah. Thank you, Yoshitoma-sensei.”

“I’ll see you on Monday, Ryou-kun.”

As they turn the corner of the hallway to the front of the school, Sousuke asks Ryou if he wants anything special for dinner tonight. Without meaning to, he hears the way Tachibana and sensei begin to talk in the hallway.

_“I’m afraid we’re considering switching Suzume into another homeroom if she continues this way…”_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's another rainy day, and another encounter with the Tachibanas.

A week after Ryou’s behavioral incident, life has continued without any unusual hitches. The only problem is that Sousuke can’t help but worry about what his son is like at school – Yoshitoma-sensei mentioned again how Ryou still had trouble making friends, and Sousuke had no idea Ryou was spending his lunch period inside the classroom instead of with other students. In fact, he’s not sure about much as to how Ryou is at school, and he’s unsure of how to get him to speak about it. He knows full well, after all, what it’s like to have parents force problems out of you.

The rain has been on and off all week and today the sky seems to have opened its gray clouds with full force, much more severe than the pleasant sprinkle from just that afternoon. He’s soaked from head to toe in the short time it takes him to reach the front doors of the school from the parking lot so he sheds his coat as soon as he’s inside.

“Daddy!” Despite his soaked state, Ryou bounds over the moment Sousuke steps inside and wraps his tiny arms around his father’s legs. He’s been very eager to get home lately.

“Ah – Yoshitoma-sensei, again…”

“Yamazaki-san, as I’ve said before, don’t worry about it,” he says, smile as patient as ever.

It’s about five thirty and it seems that Ryou has been the last one waiting. Looks like even Tachibana has beat him here today. In fact, for the past week, he hasn’t been able to run into either Tachibana or Suzume when picking his son up, and he’s almost disappointed by the coincidence. Almost, considering he’s none too eager to run into that tiny ball of compressed attitude any time soon.

“We’d better get going. You have your umbrella, Ryou?” he asks, ushering his son outside the door. “Yoshitoma-sensei, are you fine getting home in this weather?”

“Takizawa-sensei is allowing me to ride home with him today. I’m not sure it’d be a good idea to walk to the station in this kind of downpour, even with an umbrella,” he says as he shuts the door behind them.

“Take, care, sensei. We’ll see you Monday.”

They go their separate ways while Ryou struggles with fishing his umbrella from his backpack. Sousuke regrets not having brought his, namely because the child-sized umbrella has no hope of shielding them both, so he braves the storm front once more as the two of them jog briskly through the water and to their car. Ryou is a giggling mess the entire time – he always seems more animated in this kind of weather, something Sousuke never noticed until they moved to this city with its more frequent rain and snow days – and shakes his damp hair out as soon as he’s inside the car.

Sousuke clips his seatbelt on and wipes the water from his face. Sensei was right – even the short ten minute walk to the station in this weather would be brutal for anyone. He turns around as he backs out of the parking space, smiling to himself at the grin on Ryou’s face as he idly traces shapes into the foggy window, and starts to wonder whether they’ve got enough food at home for dinner.

They’ve only been driving for about two minutes when there’s a loud gasp from the backseat.

“Ryou? What’s wrong?” Sousuke asks, glancing into the rearview mirror.

It takes a few moments for Ryou to get the words out, but he manages to swipe away at the foggy window with his palm and points outside with a, “It’s Tachibana-san outside! And Suzume, too.”

Sousuke immediately pulls over and cranes his neck back to search through the back window. Ryou unbuckles from his car seat and stands up so that he can look too, and sure enough, several feet back are Makoto and Suzume. It looks as though Suzume is trying to share their green umbrella between them, an impossible task thanks to their height difference, but she’s trying nonetheless. The spokes of the umbrella keep poking Makoto in the shoulder as he tries to get her to shield herself from the rain. Ryou waves through the foggy window, and Makoto recognizes them as they approach the car.

“Hey, Tachibana.” Sousuke clambers out of his seat, shielding his face from the diagonally-falling rain as he goes out to meet him. “You two need a ride?”

“Oh, well – really, to trouble you, we—“

“It’s fine, really. You shouldn’t be out in this weather. Your kid might get sick.” Makoto is dressed differently today, more casual underneath his heavy raincoat. Even so, he’s soaked to the bone, and Suzume is no different, the stray strands of her braided hair plastered against her face.

“Thank you, Yamazaki-kun,” he says with a grateful sigh.

Suzume immediately skips to the car and jumps up so that she can slap her palms hard against the window, effectively scaring Ryou as he scrambles to the other seat. She laughs wildly despite Makoto’s attempts at chastising her while Ryou now unwillingly unlocks the door for her, and she climbs in with an entirely unapologetic face as she rattles off her, “Sorry, Ryou-chan,” that Makoto makes her say.

“The station’s still pretty far from here,” Sousuke comments as he gets into the car last. “You don’t need to feel bad about this, Tachibana. After all, we did know each other in high school.”

“We knew _of_ each other, more like it,” Makoto says, laughing lightly as he pushes his damp hair from his forehead. “Again, thank you, Yamazaki-kun. Suzume and I are lucky that you spotted us.”

“Thank Ryou, too. He was the one who saw you.”

“Thank you, Ryou-kun,” he says, turning to the backseat with a warm smile. Ryou looks all but happy having to sit next to Suzume, who has chosen the middle seat instead of the opposite window seat for the sole purpose of tormenting Ryou, but he mumbles a, “You’re welcome, Tachibana-san,” all the same.

“Actually, Yamazaki-kun,” he says tentatively, turning back to Sousuke. “If you and Ryou have the time, would you like to have dinner with Suzume and me? It’s the least I could do to properly thank you.”

“I already told you, there’s no need to—“

“We’re eating somewhere tonight?” Suzume blurts out from the backseat, whacking Ryou in the side of the head as she throws her arms up. “Oh – sorry, Ryou-chan, ah! Don’t tell me you’re crying…”

* * *

 

About ten minutes later, the four of them are standing outside a small family restaurant downtown. It’s packed tonight, everyone in search of a hot meal before heading home for the weekend, and the only tables available are sets of two across the aisle from one another. Before Sousuke can take a seat across from Ryou, Suzume intercepts and darts to the chair, happily chanting, “I’m having dinner with Ryou-chan tonight~”

Fine. At least they’re nearby where he can keep an eye on them, he thinks grumpily to himself as he joins Tachibana, who is giving him an apologetic look. He sheds his raincoat and drapes it over the back of his seat while Sousuke does the same with his dripping business coat.

“Oh – you work at the swim club, Tachibana?” he asks, pointing at the shirt logo over his menu. He has to raise his voice a little through the noise of the other patrons. “That’s… interesting.” There are other things he wants to say about that, but he decides they’re not worth mentioning right now.

“Yes, although I’ve only been there as an instructor for the past few months. I applied as soon as we moved here. I work at the fire station as well, but I’ve thankfully got the weekend off from that.”

“Hold on. Fire fighter _and_ swimming instructor?” Sousuke raises his eyebrows, rather impressed. So that was where that uniform was from last week.

Makoto shrugs timidly, scratching his cheek as he says, “Well, my schedule at the station is pretty lax, so it’s not too bad balancing them both.”

“How about you?” Makoto asks, setting his menu down. “I was really surprised to see you last week, and I’ve been meaning to get a hold of you, but I guess our schedules have gotten in the way. It’s just that it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it has,” Sousuke says, shying away from Makoto’s friendly smile and averting his eyes to his menu.

“After graduation, we all wondered where you went. Rin, especially, he…” He allows his voice to trail off when he notices the way Sousuke’s lips press into a tight line. He scrambles instead to switch the topic to something else, but Sousuke shrugs and lets out a sigh.

“I went to Tokyo for university, switched majors a few times, somehow stuck with business and econ, and had Ryou about halfway through grad school,” he says, as though in the form of a pre-meditated list. “I received a job transfer to this city about two years ago, and here I am.”

“Ah. I, also, went to university in Tokyo,” is all that Makoto really has to say in response to Sousuke’s curt relaying of his life since high school. Sousuke can tell he has other questions to ask, but his green eyes instead busy themselves with watching the children across the aisle.

Neither of them can make out what they’re talking about, but it seems Suzume is doing enough talking for the both of them while Ryou occasionally glances up and nods at her. Sousuke is waiting for her to do something rash to piss off his kid, but at one point, Ryou lets out a small laugh. He dispels his smile quickly, of course, but Suzume leans forward in her seat and points it out with what sounds like, “I did it! You smiled, I told you I could do it! Okay, now it’s your turn, Ryou-chan.”

“They’re getting along.” Sousuke says this as more of a question, his tone baffled.

“Yeah, it seems that way. I’m really glad,” Makoto says with a tired smile. “You probably know already how difficult it is with Suzume. She can be a little – well, overwhelming at times.”

Sousuke forces himself to simply nod instead of utter one of the many things he _could_ say about Suzume that would probably offend her father. Thankfully, a waiter come around and he takes their orders. Ryou and Suzume walk over as well to briefly mention their orders before they hurriedly sit back down.

“I’d be really happy if they were to become friends,” Makoto goes on, his expression softening as he continues to watch the two children interacting. Ryou doesn’t seem to be putting much effort into making Suzume smile, but she cracks within seconds anyway and demands redo after redo. Despite himself, Ryou is beginning to smile more as well, and Sousuke finds himself agreeing with Makoto.

“I’d be glad, too. Ryou’s had a hard time making any friends.” It’s a concern he hasn’t had the chance to voice to much of anyone except for Ryou’s teacher. Ryou’s mother is out of the question, and it’s not as though he’s kept in contact with anyone from over the years, nor has he made any particularly close acquaintances since moving here. Not even his parents, who are overjoyed to see their adorable grandchild during the few times they visit, know the details of Ryou’s life, and when Sousuke thinks down to the details this way, he can’t help but feel as though he’s screwing _something_ up.

“He has?” Makoto asks. “Ryou-kun seems like such a friendly child, though, if not a little quiet.”

“He’s definitely quiet. He keeps to himself a lot more than he should, I think. I was surprised, last week, to see him talking to you.”

“I do work with children all the time,” Makoto says, glancing again at Ryou. “Um, Yamazaki-san, I don’t mean to pry, but,” Makoto fidgets with the napkin in his fingers, “Ryou-kun’s mother, is she…?”

“She’s staying back in Tokyo,” Sousuke tells him with a shrug. This is something he’s explained to co-workers a number of times, back when they asked him whether he was rushing home every day because he had a wife waiting for him, which was not at all the case. “We’re not on the best terms right now.”

“Ah,” Makoto says, allowing the subject to drop immediately.

Their food arrives, and they fall into silence for the time being, eyes instead on the pair of children who are starting to play around with their hot soup. For the most part, they’re watching Suzume; Sousuke is unsure of what to expect from her, because she’s been nothing if not surprise after surprise since they’ve met. Just last week, she was carelessly spewing every thought that came to mind, and this week she’s acting like she enjoys being around Ryou (the fact that earlier she hit him in the head aside).

Right now, she seems to be the calm one, watching Ryou with almost pinpoint focus as he takes a spoonful of hot broth and blows weakly over it.

Sousuke turns again to Makoto. He isn’t sure how to word his next question, but his eyes glance down at Makoto’s hand still clutched around a napkin. It’s something he’s been curious about since finding out he was Suzume’s father. “So, then, your wife, she works…?”

“My – oh, no, I’m not – I’m not married, Yamazaki-kun,” he says hastily and with a nervous laugh. He holds up as left hand as though to verify. His cheeks have tainted with blush. “I think I might still be too young for marriage, honestly.”

But not too young to have a child?

Oh, right. Sousuke shouldn’t be talking when it comes to that.

“Then, Suzume, her mother—“

“I can cool it down for you!” Suzume exclaims, commanding the attention not only from their parents but from half the restaurant as well. She’s already trying to stand in her chair so that she can lean across the table. “Here, just let me—“

“No, you don’t have to,” Ryou says, sliding the bowl to the side.

“Let’s put ice in your soup. That’ll make it cold,” she says in a proud tone. “I do it all the time.”

“I’ll just wait for it to cool down.” Ryou moves his bowl again before Suzume’s fingers can reach it. “Sit down, please.”

Suzume accidentally swats her glass of water over and it quickly spills across the table and onto Ryou’s lap. He yelps at the cold feeling and nearly stumbles out of his seat. The table clatters and shakes on his legs as he pushes his seat away and Suzume stretches her arm so that she can reach for his glass of water.

Sousuke and Makoto are both trying to get up, words of warning on both their tongues, but Suzume makes another grab for the bowl.

She manages to knock the scalding liquid and noodles all over Sousuke’s lower half just as he tries to block it from spilling over the edge.

This is where Ryou parrots his inappropriate phrases from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ??? ? somehow.... another ch................ the very next day.....................


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> throws this here and screams and jumps into my math textbook

Makoto, for what is probably the twentieth time since they hurriedly left the restaurant, apologizes for spilling soup all over Sousuke’s legs. It isn’t even his fault, Sousuke has told him again and again; mostly, Sousuke is the one sorry for having cursed in front of two children, and is sorry for the fact that he’s now sitting in the passenger seat of the car in a pair of boxers, his soup-soaked pants laid out over his lap. He’s glad Tachibana has his license to drive.

In the backseat, Suzume is pouting for having had to apologize to so many people – to the waiter, the manager, to Ryou, and to Sousuke – and is uncharacteristically quiet while she and Ryou stare out opposite windows. Sousuke can tell she doesn’t feel sorry at all.

“Take this turn, Yamazaki-kun?” Makoto asks, squinting through the windows as the wipers swing back and forth.

“Yeah. Our house is about halfway down the street. I’ll drive you guys back as soon as I get a new pair of pants.”

"It's funny," Makoto says as they pull up to the home, "We live down the street. Well, in the apartments down the street, about two minutes away." Sousuke is baffled to hear that they've lived so near to one another this whole time, and that it's taken them so long to run into one another. Suzume is also surprised by the news and her earlier crankiness dissipates instantly as she turns to Ryou and excitedly tells him that they can go over to one another's homes the way other kids do.

Sousuke feels slightly – only slightly – mortified to have to run into the house in his state. At least Makoto has the decency not to look his way as they all exit the car (though she same can’t be said for Suzume), the two children underneath their umbrellas as Sousuke fumbles for his house keys.

“Make yourself at home,” he says to them as he heads upstairs, taking them three at a time.

“Thank you.”

Ryou shuts the door as soon as Makoto and Suzume enter, but he’s quick to scamper upstairs to his room as well. Suzume kicks her shoes off and prowls off to what she assumes to be the kitchen while Makoto tries to stop her from touching anything she shouldn’t. As they make their way through the home, switching the lights on, Makoto tries to recall how long ago Sousuke mentioned they had moved into the city – it was a year or two ago, wasn’t it?

Even so, the house is barely furnished, and it seems almost as though they had moved in a month ago. The walls are free of any pictures or decorations, the kitchen is spotless and almost unused, and every table and shelf is empty of anything as well.

He pauses as he walks back towards the living and comes across a picture frame, perched high up over a dusty television set. The frame is made of sticks and decorated in tiny stones and plastic shells – it’s a project from just a few weeks ago, and Makoto has a similar one at home, streaked with glitter and lined with square beads from Suzume – in a thoughtful and meticulous pattern befitting of Ryou.

Sousuke is grinning in the photograph. The woman beside him, which Makoto can clearly see is where Ryou gets his dainty facial features from, appears to be in mid-laughter. The entire picture is tilted greatly to the left and cuts off most of Sousuke and the woman’s lower bodies, capturing a huge chunk of the pink and orange sky above them, and a blurry finger creeps over the bottom left corner. In the upper corner, written over the smooth sky, is Ryou’s name and the date. It’s from a little more than four years ago.

Heavy footsteps begin thudding down the stairs so Makoto hastily glances from the picture and busies himself with finding Suzume, until Sousuke appears from the staircase. For some reason, Makoto feels as though he was looking at something he shouldn’t.

“Here,” Sousuke says, holding out a towel. He’s dressed far more casually than his usual suit and tie getup, now wearing a loose fitting jacket and shorts, and Makoto can’t help but think that maybe Sousuke really hasn’t changed much in the past ten years. He gratefully accepts the towel and starts to run it over his damp hair as he follows Sousuke towards the kitchen.

Suzume is perched on the counter with a juice box in one hand and a marker in the other. At some point, Ryou must have come back down as well, because he’s sitting on a high stool with his own drink in hand. There’s a large drawing pad between them and markers are scattered over the table. Sousuke drops a towel over her head as he passes by and she hardly startles, continuing to draw lines from edge to edge.

“Do you want hot tea?” Sousuke asks, already rummaging through the cabinets for a kettle.

“Suzume and I should probably head home,” Makoto says, hanging the towel around his neck. He’s more than a little surprised when both Suzume and Sousuke blurt out a sudden, “No, not yet,” at once.

“Well, I mean – it looks like those two are busy right now,” Sousuke mutters, throwing a look at the two coloring children.

“And I need help with the reading homework from today!” Suzume says, swinging her legs over the edge of the table.

“I – I’m not really good at reading, though,” Ryou tries to say, but she shushes him.

“Ryou-chan needs my help with the reading homework from today,” she corrects herself. “So a while more? Please?”

Even Ryou gives Makoto a quiet pleading look, and he relents instantly. His heart swells at the sight of the two of them getting along and as Suzume hops down from the counter, scooping up their drawing utensils in her hands as they make their way to the living room, he can tell Sousuke is having the same thought.

“Suzume must be really glad to be around someone her age like this,” Makoto says as soon as the two are out of the kitchen. He takes a seat at the vacated table and watches as Sousuke continues to prepare the tea with his back turned to him. Makoto notices something pinned up to the fridge – a poster collage of tissue paper and magazine clippings, different sized triangles organized in neat lines.

“She doesn’t usually hang around other kids?” Sousuke asks, throwing a glance over his shoulder. “Isn’t she in the swim club?”

“She hates swimming, actually,” Makoto says with a half-hearted laugh. Sousuke raises his eyebrows, but turns away again. “She’s good at it. Really good at butterfly and freestyle. But she hates it.” He allows a moment or two to pass before he asks, “How about Ryou?”

“I don’t have anyone to take him to and from the swim club,” Sousuke tells him with a sigh as he returns with the steaming mugs in hand. Makoto quickly takes it in his long fingers and smiles faintly as the welcoming heat starts to spread through his hands. “Even if I did, I’m sure he’d hate it, too. I took him to lessons once, before you were working there I guess, and he said he didn’t want to go back.”

“Is he afraid of being in the water or of drowning?” Makoto asks, concern furrowing his brows.

“I’m not sure what it is, but he won’t even let me try and teach him. He just gets really uneasy when it comes to swimming, and I don’t want to force him into it, but he should learn at some point.”

“If he ever wants to try again, I could be his instructor,” Makoto suggests apprehensively. “I know it’s a really unnerving thing for a lot of children, learning to swim for the first time.”

“I’ll try running that by him, then,” Sousuke says.

They’re quiet for a long time, sipping their drinks while their attention again wanders through the kitchen doorway and to where Ryou and Suzume are laying on the floor. Ryou points at different spots on the paper and Suzume leans over to scribble something in different colors while he works on another section. Every now and then, Suzume will say something that makes Ryou shake his head with a tiny small on his face. Whenever Ryou offers a few words, Suzume always bursts out laughing, filling their home with her boisterous laughter for a few seconds before calming down again. It’s definitely a change from the usual pervasive quietness of the house, Sousuke thinks to himself.

“So, Tachibana,” Sousuke says, drawing Makoto’s attention back to him. “I mean, I don’t want to be rude,” he coughs out, “but when exactly did you and Suzume’s mother, you know, have the time to—“

“Ah, well, a-actually, Suzume isn’t – I’m not her actual father,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “She’s the daughter of a close relative. Her mother passed away and – and, well, before she did, she asked me. So…”

He trails off. Sousuke tries to maintain a steady expression, but he’s caught off-guard, to say the least. He’s not sure why. Or maybe he is. Maybe he’s surprised to have previously assumed that Tachibana, level-headed as he has always seemed, would have a child without being ready to do so. Not like him.

“It’s easier, though, to say that I am her father, I guess,” Makoto adds quickly, forcing out a smile. “Although--.” He falters. “It has been difficult. I mean, it’s only been a few months of trying to take care of Suzume on my own. It’s very different, raising a child compared to watching over siblings, I understand that now. But you – you’ve been raising Ryou-kun on your own for so much longer. I think that’s amazing of you, Yamazaki-kun.”

“Yeah. Thanks,” Sousuke says, lowering his eyes back into his drink. He shifts in his chair a little as he says, “It really isn’t an easy thing to do.”

He thinks he wants to say more, the sympathetic expression on Makoto’s face making him feel strangely at ease, but his phone chooses this moment to ring.

Or, to be more exact, Noriko chooses now of all times to call him. His eyes widen at the name on his screen and he quickly taps out a message to her as soon as he rejects the call.

* * *

 

“I’ve been trying to call you for two weeks.” Sousuke can’t help the sharpness that creeps into his voice.

“I just haven’t had the time, I—“

“You can’t keep doing this to him, Noriko. You can’t keep flaking out each time you promise to visit. Do you have any idea how he feels when you don’t show up? He tries to wait up all night, and the next--

“Look, I’m sorry, I’m really fucking sorry, but I can’t help it when I’m called back into work. You don’t need to guilt me like this, Sousuke, I _know_.”

“But he was looking forward to seeing you for the past two months. What the hell kind of excuse is that?”

“Are you even listening to me, Sousuke? Do you think I can just drop my job and make the three hour trip over there? I still don’t understand, _why_ on _earth_ , you had to move so far away! If you want me to visit, then—“

“We moved because his old school wasn’t working out for him. I just want what’s best for Ryou. He needed somewhere new.”

“You’re saying that I _don’t_ want what’s best for him?” She doesn’t give him a chance to retort before she asks, in a frigid tone, “And are you sure it wasn’t just _you_ who needed somewhere new? I know you’ve fucked up here, Sousuke, but you can’t just take our son and leave, you—“

“ _You_ were the one who didn’t want him, Noriko.”

“Don’t – don’t you _dare_ try and say—“

Her voice wavers with tears and fury. Sousuke regrets this immediately. He knows there’s no point in repeating this same, goddamn, useless argument but his blood is boiling, as it always is whenever he and Noriko speak; why he thought this time would be different, he’s not sure, but he tries to level his temper and holds his phone a few centimeters from his face as noise erupts on the other end of the line.

“Let’s just drop it for now,” Sousuke finally interjects coldly. She falls unexpectedly quiet. Sousuke knows she’s trying to hold back her sobbing and his heart cinches at the thought of her still alone in their flat in Tokyo. He lets out a sigh and bites out, “Goodnight, Noriko.”

“Hold on,” she says quickly. “Put him on the phone for me. I want to talk to him.”

Sousuke doesn’t even contemplate it for a moment before saying, “No. He’s asleep.”

“Why not? Sousuke, you’re lying, I know he’s not asleep. Put me on the phone with Ryou.” Her voice borders on shouting again.

“Because I don’t think this is what he needs right now. He’s already having trouble in school, he doesn’t need to—“

“Trouble in school? What do you mean?”

The concern in her voice slices through Sousuke like a cold blade. He shakes his head and says hastily, “He’s just – look, now isn’t the best time. Call me back if you think you can make it for a visit.”

He stabs the end call button before she can protest any further. For a few minutes, while the wind begins to blow the light drizzle of rain towards him, he thinks that his phone will light up again and that he’ll have to endure another argument with her. When it doesn’t, he lets out a heavy sigh and turns back into the house.

Ryou actually is asleep tonight, though he understands why Noriko assumed he was lying. He heads up the stairs and gently pushes Ryou’s door open, where his son is still and lightly snoring beneath his blankets just as he’d left him before going outside for the call. It seems today’s festivities tired him out pretty quickly; he’s not used to hanging around anyone after school like this.

He shuts the door and pads over to his own room, scrubbing his hand over his face as though it will dispel his frustration, and flops down into bed.

Today has been the happiest he’s seen Ryou since two weekends ago.  

Somehow, he thinks he should be glad that Suzume tried to meddle with his son last week. Maybe someone like her – a friend like her – is exactly what Ryou needs right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next ch............. will be about makoto and suzume!!!!!!..........


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no mistletoe, but there's snow and gift-giving and another unexpected night at the Yamazakis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha *sweats* o man it's been tw o months hasn't it

“Haru-chan doesn’t like _anything_ except mackerel, water, and me,” Suzume laments dramatically as Makoto practically drags her down the busy sidewalk and towards another store. “Let’s go home, Mako-chan, please?”

“Suzume, wait a little more,” he pleads, “We’ll go home as soon as we find something for him. I don’t know, maybe a coat would be nice, he’s probably used to Australian weather by now and—“

“Mako-chan! Look!”

Makoto doesn’t have much time to react when Suzume points at something across the street and easily slips her hand from his grasp as she dashes away. Thankfully, the traffic downtown is bad enough that all the cars on the road are at a standstill, but several drivers still indignantly honk their horns at the crazed little girl weaving past their headlights and the frantic, irresponsible parent sprinting after her.

“Suzume!” he shrieks. “Suzume, you can’t just run away like that!” he says breathlessly once he catches up to her. However, she doesn’t pay much mind to the expression of pure terror that Makoto is still wearing, and instead stares at awe through the display window of the store she had run across the street for.

“That’s something Ryou-chan would want for Christmas,” she informs him, beaming up at him and tugging at his hand as she points again. “Can we get it for him?”

Makoto stares dumbfounded at her and her unfaltering grin for a few moments, before blinking and letting out a long sigh. He runs a hand through his hair; it’s been nearly a year and yet she still finds ways to surprise him like this.

“Of course. But promise me you won’t go running off across the street like that again,” he says in a pained tone. She broadens her grin as she nods at him. It’s been several weeks at least since last he saw Sousuke, back when it still rained instead of snowed in this town. “And I suppose I’ll need to look for something for Yamazaki-kun as well.”

“That’s easy! Ryou-chan says his papa only likes to eat tonkatsu and drink cola,” she says, laughing loudly as they enter the toy store.

“Is that so?” Makoto asks. He can’t help but laugh along. It really sounds as though she and Ryou have been getting along, which is always a relief, especially since he hasn’t heard anything about her behavior in so long. “I guess he hasn’t changed much since high school.”

“How come Yamazaki-san isn’t in any old pictures like Haru-chan and Rei-chan and Rin-chan?” Suzume reaches for a box on the upper shelf and Makoto reaches for it as well, out of habit, only to find that she’s tall enough to get it down herself. He wonders for a moment how many centimeters she’s grown since last they checked, but he’s certain she’s taller than most kids in her class at this point, and still growing.

“Hmm, well, he transferred to Rin’s school as a third year in high school. We all saw one another a few times, but he usually declined when we invited him out,” he says thoughtfully. “After graduation… ah, we weren’t really sure what he decided to do.” He hazily recalls the day Nagisa and the others put together a graduation party, and how he had run into Sousuke on the way there. Although Sousuke was as reserved as ever – at least, until he got a few swigs of alcohol into him at the behest of Rin and Gou – he remembers vaguely wishing he and Sousuke had spoken to one another beforehand.

Which reminds him, he’s yet to tell either Haruka or Rin about re-meeting Sousuke. Something tells him that Sousuke wouldn’t want him to do that – last he spoke to Rin, he still hadn’t heard much from his best friend, and if Sousuke’s already been living here for two years without bothering to contact anyone…

“These ones are his favorite color,” Suzume says as she excitedly shakes the box in her hands. He glances down at the gift and, for a stomach-churning second, wonders whether Sousuke’s hidden himself away from everyone because he had a child. He shoves the thought away the next instant. Sousuke must have his reasons, he tells himself.

“What are these, anyway?” he asks, turning the box over in his hands.

“They’re like Legos, but they’re all triangles and have magnets on the edges and we have a lot at school and Ryou always makes the coolest things out of them! And I think maybe his papa will buy him some for Christmas too, but if he has enough then maybe he can build a house, or a dog or something, because Ryou says his papa doesn’t want to have any animals in the house.”

As they pay and exit the store, the conversation shifts away from Ryou and Sousuke, to winter break and visiting Haru, Ren, and Ran back in Iwatobi. It’s going to be Suzume’s first time in his hometown, and it’s been too long since last she saw Haru, but she already has the perfect Christmas card ready for him which she refuses to show to Makoto.

He eventually settles for purchasing a scarf for Haru – he recalls the countless times he’s had to wrap Haru in his own during their winter months of school together – and Suzume helps him find one with a fish pattern at the ends. She insists on wearing it outside the store and as she prances back into the chilly night air, she again spots something interesting in the crowd.

Instead of simply racing off this time, she keeps her hand grasped in Makoto’s and forcefully pulls him along. It’s not difficult to see what it is she’s so excited about this time, and even before she’s shouting Ryou’s name into the frosty air Makoto is able to spot the child perched on Sousuke’s shoulders, high above the bobbing heads of everyone on the sidewalk. They catch up quickly, with Makoto offering hasty apologies to everyone they shoulder past on the way there.

“Ryou-chan! You have to come down, I have a present for you!” Suzume says, tugging on the bottom of Sousuke’s heavy coat.

“Oh – it’s you. And Tachibana, too, huh?” Sousuke’s surprise is short-lived and he offers them both a tired smile as he lets his son down. Ryou nervously adjusts his bonnet as he greets them.

“Here, it’s in here somewhere.” Suzume turns away to rummage through the many bags Makoto has in his hands while the adults exchange greetings, knocking several items to the ground in the process, until she produces the purple box. She beams, a little too proud as she announces, “To replace all the pieces I snapped and broke,” and Makoto blanches at that snippet of information that she seemed to have left out while they were buying it.

Ryou accepts it shyly and mutters a “thank-you” into the scarf half-covering his face. His teal eyes light up as he turns the box over and realizes what it is, and he holds it up for his dad to see.

“You can give her the present now too, Ryou,” Sousuke prompts him with a nudge. Suzume becomes visibly excited at the thought of that, but upon seeing Ryou’s horrified expression, Sousuke offers instead, “Or, we can all head over to our place and exchange gifts properly there.”

“Yes!” Suzume whoops, throwing her fists into the air.

“Are – are you sure, Yamazaki-kun?” He glances at his wristwatch and says, “It’s already pretty late, and we wouldn’t want to impose on—“

“It’s fine, Tachibana,” he interjects quickly, waving his hand in the air. “We don’t mind at all, right Ryou?” His son shakes his head weakly, hiding more of his face into his scarf. “And we can give you a ride afterwards. I hear the trains heading back into town might be a little delayed tonight. So, you know, I’d feel terrible if we left you here tonight.”

There’s a strange pleading to Sousuke’s eyes that has Makoto nodding the next moment, and the two of them walk towards Sousuke’s car with Ryou and Suzume in front of them.

 

“I’ll help Ryou-chan make hot chocolate!”

Ryou appears opposed to this at first, but as Suzume guides him into his own kitchen he offers no protest and simply directs her to where the cups and mix are located. She’s much taller than him, after all, so he resigns himself to turning on the electric kettle for hot water.

Makoto and Sousuke hang back in the living room, shrugged out of their heavy winter clothing now that they’re in the warmth of the home, and Makoto lets out a long sigh of gratitude. “Thank you again, Yamazaki-kun. You did save us from a long walk back home,” he says, glancing out the window to note the snow fall that began almost as soon as they first got into the car.

He turns back to the interior of the house which, just like the front, is as undecorated as ever. Not that their small town is all that festive for the Christmas season, but when they first pulled into the driveway the house felt more unanimated than the last time Makoto and Suzume had visited, which Suzume fixed with her loud voice as soon as they entered. Every now and then, they can hear laughter and arguing alternate from the kitchen.

“Ah – are those all for Ryou?” Makoto asks when he notes the pile of wrapped presents in the corner.

“Yeah, his mother dropped them off a few days ago,” Sousuke remarks. “His birthday was yesterday. She likes to go all out for this kind of thing.”

“Oh.” Makoto’s eyes widen. It’s just that, Sousuke has the same kind of air about him as the last time he briefly mentioned Ryou’s mother, like he’s trying his best to remain indifferent about her. Before either of them have the time to dwell on it too long, the two children come back with two steaming mugs in each hand.

Suzume has a grin on her face and Ryou appears fairly disgruntled; both of them are covered with brown hot chocolate powder in random areas, and Sousuke raises an eyebrow at his son as he takes one of the mugs and dusts away the powder from Ryou’s hair.

“Happy belated birthday, Ryou-kun,” Makoto offers.

Suzume goes wide-eyed, and hits Ryou square in the arm as she demands, “You didn’t tell me?”

“It’s not a big deal, I’m just nine,” he mutters, rubbing the spot and frowning at the liquid they’ve spilled onto the carpet.

He seems much more willing with the idea of giving Suzume her present in the comfort of his home, so Ryou sets his cup down and goes straight to the pile of bags Sousuke had set down. Although his face still reddens as he nervously clutches the gift, he quickly presents the gift to her with little ceremony.

“Oh – my gosh!” Suzume hastily sets her mug down, which Makoto has to lean forward to steady before it spills over, as she jumps to her feet and takes the package of markers from his hand. They appear otherwise ordinary, which is why Sousuke was confused when Ryou was so beside himself to find them earlier, and her reaction to them only makes Sousuke all the more confused.

“D-don’t leave them uncapped all the time, okay? So they don’t dry out so fast,” Ryou comments, watching her as she hugs the packet to her chest and expresses her glee. He moves to grab his cup again, but Suzume throws her arms around his neck and draws him into a suffocating embrace as she continues to thank him.

It takes some coaxing from Makoto to get her to let go, and Ryou takes several steps away in order to breathe as Suzume calms herself down. He’s blushing harder than ever and is trying desperately to avert the attention away from himself.

“Oh – daddy, aren’t you going to give Tachibana-san his gift, too?”

Sousuke chokes and nearly spews his hot chocolate from his mouth at Ryou’s sudden question, but he composes himself quickly and throws a glance at Makoto. Sure enough, the brunet is staring at him with mild shock.

“I just – I saw it today, and thought of you – wait, that sounds a little – it was after we bought Suzume’s gift, I just happened to see it and I remember Rin, he, you know, said something way back when, about you liking cats.” Sousuke is pinching the bridge of his nose, head hung, as he forces the words out.

“You don’t really, um, have to give it to me. If you don’t want to,” Makoto tells him, scratching his cheek lightly. He’s unsure what to make of Sousuke’s explanation, though he feels himself beginning to fluster. “I didn’t have time to get you anything today, after all.”

Sousuke forces himself to look up, considers that for a moment. The next moment, he’s standing up with a groan and rummaging through the bags until he pulls something red-colored out and he just sort of tosses it into Makoto’s lap.

It’s a sweater, so Makoto can’t tell what’s so terrible about it, but he unfurls it and stares hard at the knitted print on the front. Cats. There are cats and kittens and Santa hats, surrounded by Christmas trees and stars, and smack in the middle of the sweater is the phrase, “Merry Catmas!”

“Ah… thank, you Yamazaki-kun.” He’s trying to swallow a laugh, Sousuke can tell. Sousuke groans into his hands.

Suzume curiously peers over Makoto’s arm to take a look and she reads it aloud, only to cock her head to the side and state, “I don’t get it.”

“It’s a terrible pun,” Sousuke says.

“It… yes, it is,” Makoto agrees, slightly doubling over as chuckles begin in his chest. “But – but I really like it, Yamazaki-kun, I’ll wear it every day.”

“It’s not funny. Please don’t,” Sousuke tells him, though he’s laughing, too, now. “I’ll give you the receipt. Exchange it for something decent.”

“No, no, I’ll cherish it,” he says in an overly sincere tone. “I should wear it right now.”

Suzume and Ryou exchange looks at the two suddenly giddy adults before discretely exiting the room together with their hot chocolate in hand. They head upstairs just as Sousuke and Makoto dissolve into inexplicable giggling that takes them too long to settle down from, because they both burst back into tear-inducing laughter each time they glance at one another.

“You know – you know, even Ryou looked at me and said, ‘Daddy, don’t buy this. It looks bad. Everyone will make fun of Tachibana-san if they see him wearing this’,” Sousuke says, breathless from their little laughing episode.

“But you bought it anyway,” Makoto points out.

“I bought it anyway,” Sousuke repeats with an affirmative nod. He’s got an easy smile going on now, though there’s still a tired look in his eye, as he sits up again and takes a sip from his cooled-down drink. “Did you finish yours already?” he asks as he makes a face at the taste.

“Yes,” Makoto says, putting his empty cup down.

Sousuke gives him a thoughtful look before turning his gaze down to his cup and smirking.

“What?”

“I just remembered – you really like sweet food, right?”

“Don’t tell me you still remember that,” Makoto says, shaking his head.

“How could I forget? Kisumi, that bastard, dragging me with him out of nowhere like that even though he knew full well I don’t like sweets.” The two of them laugh again at the thought of their pink-haired friend, and the air turns bitter sweet at the memory.

“I remember, I remember. You and Haru looked so eager to leave, and Kisumi looked like a kicked puppy when you told him so,” Makoto says. He feels bad for laughing as he conjures up Kisumi’s hurt expression.

Going out drinking with his friends from the station doesn’t quite give him the same satisfied, de-stressed feeling as sitting here with Sousuke does. Their conversation drifts easily from reminiscing to work to Makoto’s failed cooking to the time Sousuke once forgot Ryou at the supermarket. Throughout the night, Makoto’s tempted to ask him about Rin, but decides that he’d rather not foul the mood. It’s three in the morning by the time Sousuke sets his half-empty mug down and it’s still a school.

They both head upstairs, a little clumsily on account of the half-delirious drowsiness in both their bodies, to Ryou’s room. The light’s still on, but both children are asleep on the floor. Suzume is surrounded by countless doodle-covered papers and tiny structures made of Legos, Keva, and Magna blocks that Ryou has half-finished.

The two adults step around the works carefully. Ryou wakes for a few moments, muttering, as Sousuke lifts him up and places him in bed while Makoto scoops Suzume up from the floor.

“Do you have work tomorrow?” Makoto asks when they pull up to the apartment complex. “I’ve kept you up far longer than I should have, Yamazaki-kun, I’m sorry for that.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got the day off, actually. We’re a branch of this American company, they always insist we take Christmas off. But you?” He helps with the shopping bags from the trunk as Makoto adjusts Suzume in his arms and they both make their way towards the third floor.

“I don’t need to be at the swim club until noon, I’m sure I’ll be fine,” he answers with a relieved smile. When they reach his room, Makoto fumbles with jamming his key into the door while keeping Suzume balanced in his arms until Sousuke takes the keys from him and does it himself.

He’s quick to lay Suzume down in their shared room before he re-emerges in the living room to see Sousuke off.

“Ah – thank you, Yamazaki-kun. For everything tonight, I mean.”

“Even the ugly sweater?”

“That especially,” Makoto assures him, a sleep yawn at the end of his words.

“Uh – I wanted to know, if Suzume wanted a ride to school in the morning,” Sousuke says, rubbing the back of his neck. “You live so close, anyway, and I could pick her up, too. It wouldn’t be a problem and there’s all this snow you have to deal with.”

“That’s… a really generous offer, Yamazaki-kun,” Makoto says, a little stunned. A moment later, he can’t help the smile spreading again over his face. “Yeah, that’d be nice. Thank you.”

Somehow, Sousuke looks like he’s the one who’s just been done a great favor, and he smiles back. “Right – so, do you want to exchange numbers? I should’ve asked a long time ago.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's two am rn i wanted to post smth (//v//') if u see mistakes just... just punch m e in the face.. .

**Author's Note:**

> from this [post yea yea yea](http://sousukesarms.tumblr.com/post/100710427471/single-dad-au-where-the-parents-are-called-to-the)  
> comments/feedback appreciated!!!


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